New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Pre-Game News and Notes April 20

Friday April 20^th 7:30 P.M. ET
New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

The Knicks awoke tonight to the news that they are now definitely playoff bound.  With the loss suffered by the Milwaukee Bucks last night to the Indiana Pacers, the Knicks locked up a playoff spot for the second consecutive year.  The Knicks cannot take it easy now, as they need wins if they want to win the division or move up the standings.  The Knicks will finish up the regular season by traveling to Atlanta for a game Sunday then finishing up with two home games against the Clippers and Bobcats next week. 

-Team News and Notes

With Amar’e Stoudemire returning to the lineup tonight, moves and decisions had to be made.  Stoudemire will be inserted into the starting lineup from the start, which means someone has to go back to the bench.  Mike Woodson has decided that man will be Landry Fields, leaving Iman Shumpert in the starting lineup along with Baron Davis, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler.  Fields can still be in for big minutes because Davis and Stoudemire will be on minute restrictions to start. 

The Knicks also made some front office decisions today.  Jared Jeffries is expected to sit out the remainder of the regular season in hopes that his knee will heal in time for the playoffs.  With this news, the Knicks made a roster move, signing Dan Gadzuric.  Gadzuric will add a big body and depth to the Knicks for the playoffs and end of the season.  He is very active around the basket and is very aggressive on the boards.  This is something that the Knicks desperately need facing a potential first round match up with the Chicago Bulls. 

To make room for Gadzuric, the Knicks waived Bill Walker.  Walker was just returning from left elbow surgery and had not been receiving minutes upon his return. 

-Get off to a quick start

Much like Wednesday night when the Knicks jumped out to an early 21 point lead over the Nets and cruised to a win, doing the same tonight would be beneficial.  If they jump out to an early start they can ease their way to victory in a game which is expected to be lopsided in favor of the Knicks.  Getting some rest for players like Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler would also be very beneficial for the playoff stretch.

-Maintain Rhythm

The Knicks have been in a nice groove on the offensive end running the offense through Carmelo Anthony.  They must figure out a way to continue this with Amar’e Stoudemire returning to the lineup.  The Knicks at times struggle with both Anthony and Stoudemire on the court together, looking confused and lacking an idea of how to score.  They have a total of four games to start getting it together before the playoffs start. 

-Continued Bench Production

With the playoff now a lock, bench production will become even that more crucial.  The presence of the bench will be very important if the Knicks want to make some noise during the post season.  The Knicks have compiled a very deep bench with the possibility to cause problems for opposing teams.  Specialists like Steve Novak and Jared Jeffries and instant offense from J.R. Smith are all important when it comes to playoff time.  Mike Woodson will be looking to tighten his rotation and really set up playing time and situations for players in these last four games.  

New York Knicks vs. New Jersey Nets Post Game Recap April 18

Final Score: New York Knicks 104 New Jersey Nets 95

The Knicks leave New Jersey for the last time with fond memories.  The Knicks jumped out to an early 21 point lead and never looked back cruising to the easy victory in their last match up with the Nets before they move to Brooklyn.  The win kept the Knicks lead over the Philadelphia 76ers for 7^th place in the Eastern Conference at a game and gained another game on the Milwaukee Bucks who sit 3 ½ games behind the Knicks with 4 to play.  The Knicks continued their spirited play under Mike Woodson totally turning around their season.   They have gone from six games under .500 on March 14^th when he was hired to a season-high four games over .500, running their record to 15-5 under Woodson.

-Carmelo Stays Hot

Carmelo Anthony has been lights out basketball for a couple weeks now, and he continued it Wednesday night.  It took Anthony no time to get going against the Nets, scoring 21 points in the 1^st quarter alone.  The 21 points was only one less than the whole Nets team was able to muster for the quarter.  His first quarter included 4 three pointers and his first six shots of the game.  He made 5-7 from the 3 point line scoring from anywhere and everywhere.  Anthony has scored at least 30 points in five straight games. 

-Giving Anthony Some Help

Tyson Chandler had yet another efficient game for the Knicks tonight.  He had another double-double, going for 18 points and 10 rebounds.  Chandler did most of his damage from the foul line, going 8-11 from the line and 5-7 from the field. 

J.R. Smith also had a nice game off the bench, scoring 15 points and adding eight rebounds of his own.  He struggled from the field, going 6-16, but did not let that effect the rest of his game.  Smith has struggled from the field at times this season, but still helps the team in other ways.  For example, tonight he had the 8 rebounds, good for 2^nd most on the team.  Earlier in the month he set a career high with 9 assists in a win over the Magic.  One consistent for Smith though is that he will give effort on the defensive end.  Even when he’s struggling on offense, the defensive pressure will also be given.

-Unable to fully avoid Complacency

The Knicks were able to come out strong and set the tone early in the Nets, evident by the 21 point lead they built.  They were able to control the game throughout the whole first half, but once the 2^nd half started they seemed to lose their edge.

The Knicks made only one field goal through the first 7:49 of the third quarter.  This enabled the Nets to get back into it, cutting the Knick lead down to five with 2:31 left in the quarter.  Overall, the Knicks shot a poor 4-17 from the field and was outscored by the Nets 24-14. 

Play coming out of the half is something the Knicks have to figure out and address with the season coming to an end and the playoffs right around the corner.  The 3^rd quarter has been the Achilles heel for the Knicks all season, but has been less problematic since Mike Woodson took over as head coach.  The Knicks start games off strong and should try doing the same things when coming out to start the 2^nd half.

The next game for the Knicks will be Friday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland.  If all goes well Thursday, Amar’e Stoudemire is expected to make his return to the lineup and start.  Stoudemire has missed the last 13 games for the Knicks, who have gone 9-4 in his absence.  

New York Knicks vs. New Jersey Nets Pre-Game News and Notes April 18

Wednesday April 18^th 7:30 P.M. ET

New York Knicks vs. New Jersey Nets

After a great win last night against the Boston Celtics on national television, the Knicks get right back at it tonight with a quick turnaround against the New Jersey Nets.  The Knicks currently sit 3 ½ games behind Boston for the Atlantic Division title and lead the Philadelphia 76ers by 1 game for 7^th place.  This will be the 3^rd meeting between the Knicks and Nets, with each team winning one so far this season.  This will also be the last time the Knicks visit New Jersey, as the Nets are prepared to move to Brooklyn for the start of next season.  Everything is lining up for this to be a trap game for the Knicks, so they have to come out strong from the start and put away the Nets.

-Avoid Complacency

Coming off a big victory like last night for the Knicks, it is common for teams to come out flat in their next game.  This is especially true when the next opponent is one that should be easily handled, which is the situation the Knicks are in tonight.  They have to avoid coming out flat and not give the Nets any confidence.  The Nets are eliminated from playoff contention so this game is exponentially more important for the Knicks.  This game will not be a cake walk as the Nets are not going to back down to the Knicks.  Putting them away early will be beneficial for the Knicks because if they let the Nets hang around till the end the result may not be what Knick fans are hoping for.

Carmelo Anthony has become a leader on both ends of the court since Amar'e Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin went down with injuries.  It will fall on his shoulders to make sure the team comes out ready to play with energy and intensity. 

-Injury Updates

The Knicks now have another person re-added to the injury list.  Baron Davis was under the weather and tweaked his hamstring in the game against the Celtics last night.  Davis was limited to just 18 minutes last night because of the various ailments.  He also had to cut short his morning shoot around because of a knee problem.  This is something to keep an eye on because the Knicks are deathly thin at PG with Jeremy Lin going down injured and Mike Woodson not having confidence in Toney Douglas.  Look for Bibby to get ample opportunities to shine again tonight. 

Jared Jeffries will again be on a minutes limit tonight and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.  He is returning from a knee injury which has plagued him all season.  The Knicks can afford to rest him for spots now, but come playoff time they will need his defensive expertise to succeed.

The Nets are not unscathed when it comes to the injury front.  Superstar Point Guard Deron Williams was announced out for tonight’s game last night because of a strained calf.  It is the same calf injury that cost Williams 4 games in March.  Sundiata Gaines is expected to start in place of Williams. 

-Defensive Intensity

With the Nets playing without their best player in Deron Williams it is setting up for the Knicks to come out flat because they under-estimate the opposition.  That is a terrible mindset to have and will destroy the Knicks if that is indeed how they come out.  Instead the Knicks need to turn up the defensive pressure even more and rattle all the players that will be moving up in the rotation because of the injuries. 

The Nets can not be taken lightly though as they still have dangerous players.  Recently the Nets have sported three starters who have been explosive on the offensive end in Gerald Green, MarShon Brooks and Kris Humphries.  They are playing as if they are still in the playoff race and cannot be taken lightly.  It will take another top notch defensive effort from the Knicks to slow down those three and the rest of the Nets.  

Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks Post Game Recap April 17

Final Score: Boston Celtics 110 New York Knicks 118

Mike Woodson has stuck with winning the Atlantic Division as the goal for this Knicks team, and with the performance put on by the team tonight he is not alone.  The Knicks kept their division title hopes alive tonight taking care of business at the Garden.  The Knicks kept their hopes alive for the division and moved a full game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers for 7^th place in the Eastern Conference in the process. 

-Carmelo Stays Hot

Carmelo Anthony once again put on a show for the Knicks faithful at the Garden.  He kept up his average of 30 points per game since March 26^th going for 35 points.  The more impressive stats are the team leading 12 rebounds and 10 assists Anthony added, going for his second career triple-double and first with the Knicks.  Anthony set the tone for the Knicks right from the start, scoring 12 points in the first quarter.

A key to his stat-stuffing game was his aggressiveness on offense.  Not only was he attacking the basket, but he was following his own misses and totaled four offensive boards for the game.  This enabled him to get easy put backs on his own misses and make sure to keep the Celtics out of striking distance, keeping the difference around 10 points the whole game.

Where Anthony made another big impact was on the defensive end of the court.  When the rest of the players on the roster see the superstar player giving it his all on defense, they will follow suit.  Players on the team look to Anthony for leadership and he has not disappointed since Mike Woodson has come on board. 

-Change of Pace

The Knicks seemed to never fully buy into what Mike D’Antoni was trying to get them to run while he was the head coach.  That is no longer a problem under Mike Woodson.  Mike Woodson and his players all agreed that the Knicks were settling to much Sunday night against the Heat, which resulted in a lot of deep contested jump shots down the stretch; which enabled the Heat to put the Knicks away.

If you look at the stats you will see the Knicks took 32 3 point shots tonight, which would constitute as deep jumpers much like against the Heat.  The difference tonight was they were in rhythm and the ball movement was more on point.  The thing that helped most was the utilization of the skip pass (passing the ball from one side of the court to the other over the defense, not going around the horn).  This threw off the Celtics rotations and left Knick shooters wide open. 

The Knicks tied an NBA record knocking down 14/21 3point attempts in the first half alone.  They finished the game an insane 19/32 from deep.  You would think the Knicks got lucky and were just knocking down shots, which may have been the case sometimes but they came into the game with a game plan and executed it excellently to throw off the Celtics. 

-Bench Play and Players Step Up

The Knicks bench came in and dominated tonight.  Paced by 3 point extraordinaire Steve Novak (8-10 3 point shooting) and J.R. Smith (8-16 FG 7-10 3PT FG), who each scored 25 points, the Celtics bench stood no chance.  The Knicks benched outscored the Celtics bench 55-2, giving the Knicks the edge they needed to get the victory. 

Not to be forgotten is the great play of Mike Bibby.  Bibby added a 3 pointer of his own and also contributed 5 rebounds and 6 assists.  It was easily Bibby’s best game as a Knick as he controlled the game throughout as Baron Davis again struggled tonight because of all his nagging injuries.  It was nice to see Bibby come in and play well as this has been a difficult season for him in New York.

The efforts of Tyson Chandler also can not go without recognition.  Along with his patented defense, Chandler added a big 20 points for the Knicks to go along with his 7 rebounds.  The Knicks again could not find one player to step up next to Carmelo Anthony; instead they found 3 as Chandler, Novak and Smith joined Anthony as the 4 Knicks to score 20+ points each.

Next up for the Knicks is a meeting with the New Jersey Nets Wednesday night.  It will be the last visit for the Knicks to New Jersey as they are set to re-locate to Brooklyn for next season.  The game starts at 7:30 P.M. ET and can be seen on MSG.